phobia

noun

pho·bia | \ ˈfō-bē-ə

Definition of phobia

(Entry 1 of 2)

: an exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation

-phobia

noun combining form

Definition of -phobia (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : exaggerated fear of acrophobia

2 : intolerance or aversion for photophobia

Examples of phobia in a Sentence

Noun

His fear of crowds eventually developed into a phobia.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Fears don’t get much more false than today’s rising-rate phobia. — Ken Fisher, USA TODAY, "Investors: Why you shouldn't worry that rates will rise," 10 June 2018 Having a phobia, which is considered a type of anxiety, can sometimes relate back to a specific traumatic incident. — Ilana Strauss, SELF, "I Was Terrified of Falling, So I Tried Parkour," 9 July 2018 Educate yourself and do the work to uproot white supremacy, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, and fat phobia/body shaming in yourself. — Casey Johnston, SELF, "Ask a Swole Woman: How Can I Find Safe and Inclusive Gyms?," 23 Oct. 2018 All of these phobias sound terrible and debilitating. — Alexandra Gekas, Woman's Day, "10 Fascinating Phobias," 14 Sep. 2010 And people with bigger bodies face bigotry and fat-phobia on a daily basis: In doctor’s offices, in the workplace, walking down the street. — Carolyn Kylstra, SELF, "The Weight Issue: A Letter from the Editor," 25 June 2018 Failed startup Theranos targeted needle phobia to attract hundreds of millions of dollars in investment for needle-free blood-drawing technology. — Mike Feibus, USA TODAY, "Afraid of needles? These start-ups are working on alternatives," 8 July 2018 My phobia also seemed to go beyond just a fear of falling. — Ilana Strauss, SELF, "I Was Terrified of Falling, So I Tried Parkour," 9 July 2018 His clients use virtual reality to overcome phobias, including a fear of heights, anxiety issues, post-traumatic stress disorder, and drug, alcohol and smoking addictions. — Kate Thayer, chicagotribune.com, "Virtual reality can help people overcome fear of heights, study shows," 12 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'phobia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for phobia

Noun

-phobia

Noun combining form

New Latin, from Late Latin, from Greek, from -phobos fearing, from phobos fear, flight, from phebesthai to flee; akin to Lithuanian bėgti to flee, Old Church Slavonic běžati

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Last Updated

18 Dec 2018

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Time Traveler for phobia

The first known use of phobia was in 1786

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More Definitions for phobia

phobia

noun

English Language Learners Definition of phobia

(Entry 1 of 2)

: an extremely strong dislike or fear of someone or something

-phobia

noun combining form

English Language Learners Definition of -phobia (Entry 2 of 2)

: an extremely strong dislike or fear of someone or something

See the full definition for -phobia in the English Language Learners Dictionary

phobia

noun

pho·bia | \ ˈfō-bē-ə

Kids Definition of phobia

: an unreasonable, abnormal, and lasting fear of something

phobia

noun

pho·bia | \ ˈfō-bē-ə

Medical Definition of phobia

: an exaggerated and often disabling fear usually inexplicable to the subject and having sometimes a logical but usually an illogical or symbolic object, class of objects, or situation — compare compulsion, obsession